From my experience working in staffing this is a situation I see quite often with students transitioning into HR. Before opting for unpaid internships, I’d recommend looking at roles adjacent to HR such as recruitment support, HR admin, payroll assistance, or operations roles with strong people coordination. These positions still give you practical UK experience and help build credibility, even if the job title isn’t purely HR.
When applying, focus on clearly linking your past experience to HR skills like communication, data handling, compliance, and stakeholder support. In smaller cities, contract or project-based roles are often more accessible than permanent part-time ones. Unpaid internships can help in some cases, but a targeted approach using transferable skills usually leads to better long-term opportunities.
Perhaps you could consider looking for roles that are admin based with some HR admin duties local to where you live where you could work on site. The pay may not be great but it would be a start. Alternatively perhaps write to some local companies offering your services as a HR volunteer working on site for a few hours or a day a week if you can afford to do that. Many small to medium businesses are struggling at the moment and may not have the budget to pay for HR advice or have an in house HR person so may be grateful of free HR support. Paid employment might eventually follow - you never know. I would also get in touch with your local CIPD branch and attend their meetings with a view to networking with local HR people who may be looking for an additional HR person or may know of a company that is. Many roles are not advertised and can be found by word of mouth. As you have a non HR background the CIPD local branch should be able to help you find a mentor to develop your skills and knowledge.
